He’s the father of John the Baptist, and although he never shows up in your Nativity scenes, Zechariah is an important figure in the story of Christ’s birth. So important, in fact, that when Luke writes down the account of Christ’s life on earth, he begins with Zechariah.

She’s at the center of most Christmas stories, and apart from maybe Eve, she’s the best-known woman from the Scriptures. She’s Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus.

Christians have had a lot to say about Mary through the ages. Beliefs about Mary vary greatly. To some, she’s a normal young girl whom God chose to bring his Son into the world. To others, she’s the sinless object of prayer and adoration, who is practically perfect in every way. (Oh wait: I’m thinking about a different “Mary.”)

This made me think about the other Christmas hymns we sing. I’m not talking about “Jingle Bells,” “Let It Snow,” or “The Littlest Angel”—I mean the carols in the old burgundy books that sit in your piano benches 11 months of the year.

These are the tried-and-true hymns of the season, but does Scripture support them?

They’re the best-dressed trio in any Nativity scene. You’ll hear people singing about them, you’ll see drummer boys tagging along with them, and you might even hear a sermon about them.

They’re the wise men, the magi, the rich visitors who worshiped the newborn King Jesus and gave him gifts.

They’re a Christmas icon, but the Bible doesn’t say very much about them. Only two of the four Gospels even give the story of Jesus’ birth, and only the Gospel of Matthew mentions this group of visitors.

We all know that “God so loved the world,” that “God is love,” and that when it comes to love, nobody exemplifies it better than Jesus (Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 4:8; Jn 15:13). We’ve often heard First Corinthians’ “love chapter” (1 Co 13) at weddings.

But if you wanted to do a quick study on how the Bible talks about love, where would you go?

The Bible ties a great deal of meaning to the concept of “thanks”—but what if most of that meaning is lost on us today? To us, thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude. As kids, we’re taught that “please,” and “thank you” are magic words—spells that compel adults to give us stuff. “Thanks!” becomes code, then instinct.

So here’s a big list of Bible passages about being thankful. Specifically, I’ve pulled together Scriptures with either examples of people expressing gratitude or outright instructions to be thankful. (I may have had a little help.

After I reviewed Logos Bible Software 6, they went and made a sparkly new version. So this post is updated to reflect some of the new capabilities of Logos 7, as well as some awesome features that Logos has had for a long time now.

I’ve received a few emails and comments about the tools I use for Bible study, and I need to give credit where it’s due. I couldn’t do this kind of stuff without Logos Bible Software.

A lot of research goes into this site, and without Logos Bible Software 7, it would be way out of my league. I’ve yet to find a better, cooler, higher-tech tool for this kind of stuff—it’s the Batmobile of Bible study.

I know a lot of you Bible geeks are doing similar Bible studies yourselves, so there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Logos. I just want to give you my take on it. It has its pros and cons, but overall, I’m really happy with Logos Bible Software.

How about a tour of Logos?

Before I launch into a full-on review of this Bible software, let me get a few things out of the way.

I hate fine print, so I’m telling you up front: I’m an affiliate of Logos. If you decide it’s right for you based on my recommendation, they give me a kickback.

Logos Bible Software isn’t for everyone. Like the Batmobile, it’s too expensive and high-tech for most people.